


New Year’s Day gathering

by muldersboyishenthousiasm



Category: The X-Files
Genre: F/M, Fluff, New Years
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-07
Updated: 2018-01-07
Packaged: 2019-03-01 12:46:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13295184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/muldersboyishenthousiasm/pseuds/muldersboyishenthousiasm
Summary: Mulder invited to the classical Scully gathering for the New Year's day supper.Set around s01. Early MSR.





	New Year’s Day gathering

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry, the Holidays are over but I’ve been struggling with this piece for a while. So it’s kind of... late. Not beta-read.

Maggie had insisted that she invited Mulder for the family reunion on New Year's day. Scully had hesitated, they had officially began dating last week. But her mother wouldn't take no for an answer and Dana had to drag her new boyfriend to the traditional reunion.

She had picked him up at his apartment and helped him pop his overnight bag in the trunk. The moment she turned the car key in the ignition, he began drumming his fingers along the passenger door. She had noticed terribly nervous he was and his stress only seemed to intensify on the way to her mother’s. For the whole duration of the trip, he kept squirming in his seat but still told her everything was alright. 

She was glad he had accepted to come. But considering her partner’s tendency to act as a wallflower social events not related to work, she felt guilty for imposing him all of her family members at the same time. She hoped he would blend in the crowd easily and that Bill Jr would behave himself for once. 

Despite the traffic jams, they arrived on time. Bill Jr, Charlie and Melissa were talking in the living room. Bill Jr was holding his wife’s hand and Charlie was taking a sip of his beer while listening to Melissa’s latest interest in the art of divination. When Scully rang the bell, everybody followed Maggie to the door to welcome the newcomers.

Mulder’s eyes went wider than flying saucers and Scully felt him tense. She discreetly grabbed his hand and pressed his fingers tenderly to give him strength. Bill, Charlie and their wives shook hands with Mulder before going back in to the living room. Bill’s eyes lingered on his sister’s new boyfriend’s face. Mulder felt a slight chill run down his spine but dismissed it as soon as he saw Maggie Scully approaching.

Scully hugged her mother and sister after having introduced them to Mulder. He smiled at them shyly before being wrapped in their arms. Maggie then asked Melissa to show the young couple to their room. She had prepared Dana’s childhood bedroom and asked Charlie to bring the spare camping mattress up. 

Mulder  understood the message clearly. He was to keep his hands to himself during the weekend.

 

Dinner was at 7.30 pm and they barely had time to unpack. Scully took Mulder’s hand and brought him upstairs. They had about an hour to get prepared for the official celebration. She let him take his shower first and then he went back to dress himself while she took his place in the bathroom.

When she came back in her room, he was standing in front of the mirror,  struggling to knot his tie. His fingers were shaking and his palms were sweaty. She walked over to him and pushed his hands away. He sat on the bed to help her reach his tie more easily. 

‘Don’t worry, Mulder, they love you,’ she said after straightening the knot. 

‘I’m not sure your brother likes me that much,’ he replied hesitantly.

‘That’s just Bill. He’s protective. That’s what brothers are for, right?’ 

She was smiling at him but when she saw Mulder lower his eyes to his hands, she immediately regretted her words. She circled him with her arms and hugged him tightly.

‘Sorry, Mulder!’ 

‘It’s alright. I know what you meant,’ he looked up at her and offered her a timid grin. ‘I guess you should go dress yourself.’

Scully looked down at her towel clad body and flushed slightly. She nodded and turn her back to him to pick up a nice outfit for the event. He observed her while she browsed her well garnished collection. She brought out a black dress and found matching necklace and earrings to complete the classy and elegant look.

Maggie had them sit next to one another. Melissa was sit next to Mulder and she gave her sister a wink when he wasn’t looking. When Dana had told her her new coworker was cute, she didn’t know what to imagine, but now she understood why she didn’t get to meet him until today. Melissa thought that her little sister wanted to keep this fascinating man all to herself. Who could blame her?

Everything was going well until Bill Jr asked Mulder why he wasn’t celebrating New Year’s day with his own family. 

‘Bill,’ Maggie intervened, ‘Fox is a guest. He is very kind to have accepted coming over this year.’ In short, Maggie was telling her eldest son to behave.

Scully felt her partner’s leg jumping up and down restlessly and tried soothing him by putting her hand on his knee. It seemed to work until her brother asked him about his sister. He had heard from Melissa that his sister’s new coworker had supposedly been abducted by little green men. Mulder threw her a worried look and opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted.

‘Bill, go get me the cranberries. They’re in the fridge,’ Maggie said firmly.

The son looked outraged but obeyed his mother and left the dinner room to go to the kitchen. Maggie excused herself and followed him a few seconds later. Charlie took the opportunity to question Mulder on his academic background and asked him about his opinion on the next baseball game.

When Bill and Maggie came back, the son was obviously angry with his mother but didn’t dare saying so. Mulder tried avoiding to look at the eldest of the Scully children and took great interest in his dessert. He was glad that Scully had kept her hand on his knee and made no attempt at shrugging her off. It was of great comfort to him and he began relaxing at last. 

Once dinner was over, they all helped cleaning up the dishes in spite of Maggie’s -protests and prepared the table to play so card games. Mulder’s eidetic memory helped him win many times and annoyed Bill Jr who, as it turned out, was a bad loser. 

At midnight, Charlie and his wife left the house after having said their goodbyes. Charlie even made Mulder swear he’d call him if ever he wanted to go play some baseball in the summer. Soon after, Melissa went to bed upstairs. Bill’s wife asked her husband to go home because she was dead on her feet and couldn’t wait to go to bed. Maggie kissed her son on the cheek and hugged her daughter-in-law before closing the front door on them and heading to bed.

 

Scully was coming back to the bedroom, after having  brushed her teeth when she saw Mulder undressing slowly. He had drunk more alcohol tonight than he had in the last year. His speech wasn’t slurred but he was certainly a bit tipsy. He finished pulling up his pyjama pant and put kept his white undershirt on before slipping into the bed covers. 

Scully smiled. Her partner had totally forgotten about the camping mattress waiting for him on the other side of the bed. She shrugged and joined him under the linens. She heard him squeak when she pressed her cold feet to his legs. She would be the little spoon this time. She turned off the bedside lamp and listened to his regular heartbeat.

‘Mulder?’ she whispered.

‘Humpf?’ he muttered sleepily.

‘That wasn’t too bad, was it?’ she sighed.

‘It was a very nice familial New Year’s day. One like I’ve never experienced before,’ he murmured. Sleep had already claimed him.

Scully turned to face him and kissed his lips before brushing back some hair that had fallen over his brow. She snuggled into his embrace and felt his arms tighten   instinctively around her small frame. For the first time during the day, stress had left him and he was sleeping peacefully at last.


End file.
